Hotline Miami 2

Hotline Miami 2 Hands-On: New Skills Drenched In Same Blood

I came late to the Hotline Miami party. I missed it on PC, but snapped it up as soon is it arrived on PS3 and Vita. It was the perfect portable title. I'm excited that the sequel is coming to PlayStation 4, as I am my multitude of deaths during the demo evidence my ineptitude with mouse and keyboard.

As you may know from our E3 preview, Hotline Miami 2 is the final game in Dennaton's ultra-violent, neon-washed series. It finishes the story started in the first game, though we didn't get much narrative in our two-stage demo.

We did get to try some of the new skills, though. For my first level, I chose the bear mask that enables dual wielding. A press of the right mouse button sends the character into a John Woo-inspired firing arc with arms moving from front to side.

There's also a character that starts with a chainsaw. Another can executed enemies with a gun (similar to the melee executions). Characters can now roll under incoming fire. It doesn't break the game and requires precision.

I died quite a lot, but that was never something that didn't bother me (nor did it with the first game). I love the puzzle-solving approach to the combat, and pulling off combos after so many trial and error deaths still feels great.

The title is shaping up well, and I'm excited to play the full version when it arrives sometime this fall. For more on Hotline Miami 2, check out a recent trailer.